Terraria: Calamitas' Curse
by CalamitasIncarnate
Summary: The world was a simple place until Yharim, Tyrant of the Jungle, gripped Gaia with a Cosmilite fist. One Terrarian, armed with only a bag of copper equipment and some potions, fully intends to stop them. [Created with full permission from Cenx and a developer of the Calamity mod. Credit for the Calamity Logo goes fully to Inanis.] Will contain violence and swearing.
1. Prologue: The Spirits

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, Gaia was a simple ball of magma and stone floating around a star. No life, no water. An uninhabitable Hell Dimension. The Spirits emerged from the Great Star and hoped to change this sole planet's fate. Each spirit claimed their own land on the planet. The Purity Spirit claimed the duty of plant life, trees, and foliage. The Water Spirit claimed the Water Cycle, which keeps Gaia in balance. The Crimson Spirit claimed the function of fleshy life and evolution. The Hallow Spirit claimed the domain of Dreams and Magic. The Sky Spirit claimed the domain of the Atmosphere and of all things that fly. The Fire Spirit claimed its place at the very top, ruling over all as a kind spirit leader, helping to channel their energies into productivity. The Fire Spirit claimed the domain of the planet's interior, creating the Underworld as a residence, and as a power source. The heat from the flowing magma fueled the world's mana with Hallow's help, bringing balance.

With all of the spirits working together, life sprang forth. Millions of trees grew from stone, breaking it up into sandy dirt as they lived and died, the newly created soil growing many blades of grass, flowers, and all other forms of life. Creatures like Bunnies and Snakes were cast into the world, creating their own primitive societies, and fighting eachother for land and for food. Food crops were blessed upon the newly formed Gaia, filling up fields with wild strawberries, carrots, potatos, and lettuce. The deepest vallies of Gaia were quickly filled with Water in order to sustain life, the world being sped up and the Water Cycle beginning. Storms rolled across the entirety of Gaia, filling lakes and ponds and creating vast rivers. The Hallow blessed the entire planet with an important power- the power to create and use magic artifacts, this power being called Mana. Bunnies would cast duplication spells for their lettuce, and the newly formed Human Race would use these spells to create fire and warmth.

The Crimson Spirit had cast in the Bunnies and Snakes with its power over blood and flesh. The Water Spirit had cast in the oceans. The Purity Spirit had cast in the plant life and food. The Air Spirit had added the Atmosphere. Each spirit added something important to Gaia. Without one of them, the entire system falls apart and becomes unsustainable.

That's why the Great Seal was the greatest mistake Gaia would ever see. The spirits turned on themselves, clashing in a battle that would nearly destroy Gaia. To attempt to cease this pointless war, the Fire Spirit ventured into the depths of hell, attempting to seal away some of the Spirits' power in order to preserve Gaia before any damage was sustained to their creation. However, in the Fire Spirit's efforts to do this, they sealed away all of the spirit powers, binding the spirits to a Curse known as the Wall of Flesh. This wall was the great evil, created from all of the power that had been sealed away. Only a worthy soul may harm this wall, anyone deemed unworthy being killed immediately.

The effects of the Great Seal were drastic. Gaia's mana is slowly being depleted by all of the creatures, and no more power to back up their output. The religions created around the Spirits fight among one another, crimson blood being shed over which one would bring back their power and save Gaia. So many creatures simply accepted their fate and believed there was no hope, and that Gaia would shrivel and return to its original state, devoid of life. But few remained optimistic, believing that if a worthy person came along, perhaps the power could be released once more, saving Gaia.

One could only ponder if the Spirits would learn their lesson from almost destroying their beloved creation.


	2. Chapter 1: Jade

Pain was the first thing felt when Jade awoke. Small waves of it were coming from every part of her body, radiating and rippling and making every twitch she made agonizing. She painfully sat up, looking at her surroundings with squinting eyes. Her second thought was that it was too bright here. It seemed like early morning, but the sun was shining hard on Gaia already. She turned around, wincing as she stood up. All she had on her was her backpack, which seemed… strangely heavy. She set it on the ground, opening it up and checking inside to find a simple, gray bag in it, which she opened and unceremoniously poured onto the ground.

The bag was filled with a simple assortment of weaponry, potions, a mysterious blue crystal, a slime figurine, a set of parts that could be constructed into approximately 3 chests, a set of explosives, numerous throwing weapons each in their own small bag, and some torches. Along with that were 2 artifacts, one seeming to be a totem, and the other looking like a staff. Neat. She quietly picks out the Copper staff, beautifully inlaid with a large Amethyst stone. She tried it out, swinging it wildly and assuming that it was a melee weapon. However, when she held it just right, the Amethyst in the staff began to glow. She held it forward, feeling the staff in her hands, before attempting to use this glow. All it took was her channeling the tiny bit of Mana she had into her right hand. The staff brightly glowed, before releasing a purple bolt of magical energy, sucking her mana reserves dry in the process. It struck a rock, cracking it and breaking it into small pieces. Huh. Sweet. She tossed aside the sword and the bow, keeping the slightly gelled-up staff. It could be useful later.

When she turned back around, another person was standing right there, looking her eye to eye. She let out a yelp, stumbling back and falling to the ground. The Guide let out a small laugh, before beginning to speak.

"I assume you are our chosen one, correct?" He snickers, helping her up. She blushed indignantly, crossing her arms with the staff. "No need to pout. I'm your guide, I've seen worse. So much worse."

Jade was the next to speak. "Oh, uh- I don't really know. I'm not exactly sure how I got here... Who are you, exactl-" The Guide cuts her off, shushing her.

"Calm down. I understand you have questions, but I can answer them a bit later. Yes, I'm your guide. I'm meant to be the one to help you along, teaching you how to create different tools to help you survive in this world. After all, it would be kinda bad news if you failed to survive for now. By the way, the name's Harley." He reaches out to shake her hand, which she returns rather… reluctantly.

"I'm… Jade." She says simply, still not sure if she should trust him. Harley gives her a small smile, before stepping away. Jade then moves over to recollect her supplies, placing them in her backpack and hoisting it up onto her back. It was strangely a lot lighter than before she pulled out the bag.

"Alright, I guess it's time to cut the pleasantries short. We need shelter." He says rather bluntly. "Maybe we should pick some branches off these trees and make a small shelter for now. We can worry about actual housing later on. After all, It's much better than nothing." With that, he begins scanning the ground, tossing over large branches for a fire and shelter. Jade stands there awkwardly for a few seconds, before getting an idea. She readies her amethyst staff, before firing directly into the trunk of a tree. Branches proceed to rain down.

"Y'know what? Good enough for me." Jade blurts out, before picking up the branches and putting them in a pile. She then does this to a couple more trees, hoping this will be enough for some sort of a shelter. The Guide soon returned, holding an armful and dropping them onto the pile. He then moves to her side, picking up the branches from the ground and heaving them onto the steadily growing pile of branches.

The Guide soon moves over to the pile, setting up supports and beginning to construct the shelter by mixing Clay and Water at a nearby stream and pasting the branches together to make a simple, albeit strong, frame. Jade helps by gathering live branches covered with large leaves to keep rain out and keep heat in. By dusk, the shelter is complete for the night. Harley takes several plots of leaves inside, making some small beds and an in-ground fire. Some clay insulation on the inside keeps the hut from catching fire and an air vent in the roof keeps smoke out. Harley seemed rather experienced with this, despite not looking any older than 15.

"There we go." The Guide pokes his head out through the small door area. "You can come inside now!" Jade slowly leans down and crawls inside of the area, pressing a patch to the hole to act as a temporary door. The fire crackles quietly, filling the hut with a dim orange glow. The Guide smiles.

"It'll work against the zombies for the moment, but I doubt it can hold back anything stronger. Tomorrow, we're going to need to build a much larger shelter." He says, Jade immediately being taken aback. Did he just say zombies?

"...Did you mention Zombies in that?" She says softly and slowly. He looks at her.

"Zombies. Undead Villagers, having failed to come back to life due to the fleeting mana in this world. Only years ago, they could die and respawn as many times as they wanted, given a few days rest before trying again to replenish mana." He says solemnly. And with that, Jade laid down against the wall, looking at him. "I assume there's a story behind this?

"Well, I'm not sure you've noted, but you're not _exactly_ that strong in the mana department. I'm sure you've used that staff enough to note the fact that your mana reserve is small and fleeting. This is due to a sealing spell that was created long ago to seal away some of the spirits' powers. However, the sorcerer, long since forgotten, accidentally sealed away every bit of the Spiritual Energies, causing an imbalance. This world's mana is to run dry. As such, if you die, you're dead permanently. Please do try to be careful. I'm hoping you're the one that was foretold, because if you aren't, Gaia will come to a bitter end, and all of the life force and mana will finally run dry."

And with that, the Guide was silent once more, staring into the flames of the fire as they slowly burnt out over the course of the next few hours. His mind was just thinking back to a time where the world was the eternal flame, but now the world's mana matched the fire. Burning bright as long as there was fuel and power, but without it, it's only a matter of time until that fire goes out permanently with nobody to relight it.

He _really_ hoped she was what Gaia needed for all those years.


	3. Chapter 2: Hallow

_**AN: Hi there! It's Ada, and due to Quarantine, I finally have time to continue this story. I'm going to be updating each chapter to my liking in order to meet my new style of writing.**_

 _ **Please enjoy! 5/26/2020**_

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The first time she had ever had a dream in this world was a nasty first impression. Instead of her sleep being the normal instant transition from night to day, her thoughts were filled with anger, brutality, cruelty of the utmost horror. But these experiences were not her own. Rather, the Tyrant's. The Witch's. The leaders of the land's brutal past injecting themselves into her head.

Visions of horror flashed through her head. The burning fire of hell itself. The screams of a young child, cast into the magma. Jade stirred in her sleep, quivering and letting out a soft whimper of fear. Until a story took shape in her mind. The story of Yharim's upbringing.

 _Years ago, the story of the Tyrant, The Dragon, and the Witch took place. A young boy, Yharim, had his family cast into the magma. For what reason is unknown. Yharim had been taking care of a large dragon egg, almost as large as the boy's torso. It too was cast into the magma. Yharim himself, facing his captors, plead for his life. But it was futile. He was lifted effortlessly by a large man, and thrown over the side of the overhang into the awaiting magma. But the pit of flame held a bigger power. It nurtured the contents of the egg, the dragon growing at hundreds of times its normal speed. The dragon burst from the magma as the boy screamed in fear, catching him and reducing the angry mob to ash in an instant._

 _Yharim was safe, but badly burnt. The dragon knew that Yharim had been taking care of him, therefore a bond had formed. Even inside of the egg. Yharim named his companion Yharon. With his companion, Yharim destroyed his competition and took the jungle temple for himself at the age of 12. He ruled with a fist of pure cosmilite. He contracted the best weapon-smith in the universe, Draedon. He was outfitted with the Tyrant's Ultisword, and Auric Tesla plating. Nothing could damage it except for something stronger. Shadowspec. A material not acquirable, but in existence. So close you could touch it, but untouchable._ _But Draedon figured out a way, as he did for everything._

 _With this new material, they forged a set of weapons nicknamed the Developer's Weapons, each one fabled to be sharp enough to slice the molecules in the air without resistance or effort. Each one dangerous enough to destroy entire planets with enough channeled energy or worthy effort._

 _Together, the newfound family rose to power. They ruled without mercy, without worry. They advanced Science. Society itself. Technology unimaginable to today's standards was being thrown away as scrap metal._

 _Across the vast jungle, the deserts, the entire snow biome, behind the Dungeon, laid a mountain range. The Hellstone Mountains, with thousands of caves carved out by people unfit for society. Brutes, Witches, and Berserkers. They lived together, only fighting to survive. Among these people was Calamitas, a tall woman with a heart filled with flame._ _Her Father taught her the ways of magic, harnessing the hellfire and the cosmic energy that filled the universe. She was also taught kindness, compassion, and to never attack another being. Never let the rage take control. One day, an angry mob stormed the cave. Her brothers, mother, and father were strung up on crosses. Stabbed, tortured, and killed. Calamitas was distraught, but most of all, she was angry beyond anger. Forgetting her father's words, she laid waste to the mob, burning with hellfire and teleporting them to hell to be tortured for all of eternity. She condemned their souls to never know rest or peace. They would forever burn for what they did to her family. She then set to work learning the art of Necromancy in order to revive her brothers and parents. She could only save her brothers. Her parents were gone, never to return to her side. This realization crushed her soul, her outburst only managing to cloud her heart with hellfire and malice._

 _Her outburst caught the attention of Yharim. He brought her to his side with messages. And he enlisted her in his command line. As his second in command. She was outfitted with Shadowspec, created by Draedon himself. The bottom of her shadowspec dress burned with hellfire, hellfire that couldn't burn her due to her corruption. She was given weapons unimaginably powerful, the Developer Weapons, all of which she would make use of once the time came._

Harley shook Jade awake. Jade gave a squeak of terror, kicking him through the weak wall of the shelter and onto the grass. It was a bright and warm day out, birds chirping and flying overhead. She slowly stood up, still quaking a little bit from the horror of her dream. She felt every second of it. The burning of hellfire, the warmth of the love Yharim and Yharon shared. The hatred Calamitas felt. She remembered it too well for her liking.

"I'm... really sorry. I had a horrid dream last night." She shook her head, feeling a bit anxious now. Harley grunted and pulled a sharp stick out of his arm. It didnt go too deep, but it was still painful. He then downed a health potion, the wound filling and healing in a matter of seconds. He then looked downwards.

"I guess I didn't tell you about the Lore Dream. All newcomers have the same dream for some reason. It's been that way for years now. But, we've got another fish to fry. I'm sorry the experience wasn't talked about, but we can discuss the dream later on, and I can explain parts you missed or want to know more about." Jade nods slowly.

"Anyways, there's a cave to the west. Maybe you should explore it while I construct a small house." He takes out his own axe, beginning to cut trees as Jade looked towards where the cave should have been. It was embedded into the side of a hill, growing deep into the ground and almost seeming to steal the light from the outside. It was extremely dark, darker than she'd seen before in her life. But by the time she had lit a torch and approached the entrance, it lit up easily, her fears sapping away as the interior revealed itself. She grabbed the pots that were on the ground, hoping to use them to decorate the house later on, but she tripped over a stone and they crushed to the ground. Inside of them was actually a little bit of hidden loot. A few unlit torches, some throwing knives, and a curious pair of climbing claws that looked like they belonged on a pair of shoes.

She put the claws on her shoes, climbing up the side wall with ease much to her amusement. She continued further into the cave, swinging her staff around and using the gem to light her way, looting the floor of the pots and the chests. The further in she went, the newer the chests seemed before she came across a small shack. It was damaged, but the wood looked completely intact. She kicked in the door, it smashing to the floor and revealing a room with a shiny golden chest that almost seemed to glow. She opened it up, planning on taking the chest with her once she examined the contents.

It had a few nice things. A mirror in a leather bag, a flare gun and a bag of flares, a box of Tungsten Bars, an **immense** number of potions, and some arrows. She packed everything into her bag, before deciding to examine the mirror, extracting it from its bag. It had a silver binding and frame, with the actual mirror showing an image of... The Guide? She gazed into the mirror.

She began to glow, before appearing right behind the guide. He turned around to look at her, watching her clip the mirror to her belt. That was absolutely going to be useful. "Huh! I guess it just brings you right ho-" She then notices the large, seemingly perfectly constructed cabin that had been erected right behind him.

"Y- You built that? In a matter of minutes? I HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN GONE FOR AN HOUR! HOW DO YOU HAVE A FULLY FINISHED HOME!" She damn near cries from it, just not understanding. He proceeds to pap her on the head.

"Take it easy. I have my special tactics. Like the fact we used sticks yesterday, but trees drop actual wood. This world has a different style of building, letting you place it directly on the ground and allowing for you to build large structures in minutes. Almost like LEGO bricks." He explained, Jade just shaking her head. Whatever, she guessed.

The house was a pretty wooden structure, complete with a brick fireplace and a basement. She walked downstairs, revealing a blacksmith shop. Hammers along the wall, a forge, a furnace, and a workbench. All laid out in a manner that she found really comfortable. It had ventilation, shelves… It was perfect. It even had an oil trough for heat treating swords. She promptly walked back up the stairs and hugged him. It was perfect.

"This is perfect! You built everything we needed, it's perfect!"

It had only seemed like an hour or 2, but the sun was already setting. Maybe she had been in the cave for longer than she thought? Maybe daydreaming? Maybe she woke up extremely late. There were many possibilities. Harley lead her up the stairs into a bedroom with 2 beds.

"There's even a bedroom?" She promptly flops down on the rightmost bed, setting her mirror on the nightstand and crawling under the blankets. It was warm and comfortable. Harley blew out the candle on the wall, crawling into his bed too. And they then fell asleep, satisfied with the day's work.

 _Jade herself awoke in a dark area, seeming to stretch on forever. There were no walls, just a floor made of pure darkness._ _A light in the dark appeared in the distance, a feeling of warmth coming from it._ _Jade_ _decided it would be best to just stay where she was and wake up whenever. The light gets brighter. Hotter. Jade begins to float towards it, almost as if some invisible force was grabbing at her and bringing her closer._ _In that direction was a sweet energy, almost cold. Snow began to fall. A woman finally came into view, building a snowman. Her wings were made from pure crystal, each flap creating a flurry of snowflakes that swirled around before simply disappearing._

 _"Oh, Good. I thought you would never come out of the darkness!" She turned, staring Jade right in her eyes. Jade managed to squeak out a response._

 _"Wh- Who are you?" She sputtered, her body growing weak. The girl with the crystal wings smiled, revealing a mouth filled with crystalline teeth._

 _"I'm Hallow! It's nice to meet you! Do you want a snowcone while you're here? The snow's sweet!" The Hallowed Spirit pulls out a metal box._ _Jade hardly relaxes, but doesn't see the harm in saying yes._

 _"...Sure."_ _Jade_ _smiles back. The hallow squeals with glee, holding the box to her chest and jumping a few times._

 _"Ok, Watch this!"_ _Hallow put the box down and tapped the top of it twice, and the top pops open, shooting two pink snowballs up into the air. Hallow catches both of them on soft-looking, white cones and hands one to_ _Jade, who looks at it a little suspiciously. She then just shrugs, taking a few licks. It tasted really good for not being real, and even felt genuinely cold._

 _"I haven't met anyone new in a while, and something told me you needed a break from the bad memories."_ _Jade_ _stops mid-bite. She knows about the horrifying dreams? She looks up at her, blinking once. Twice. Something felt up. The wings, her teeth, and the fact that she felt everything as if it was real._

 _"Oh, maybe that was a little heavy for you. Come on, let's walk and talk, I'll tell you more about what's going on if you want." Hallow holds out a hand, gently, as if afraid to scare Jade away from her. It had actually been so long since someone with a strong enough soul appeared before her, she wasn't going to waste this chance._

 _Hallow holds her hand, a little tight but she could take her hand away if she wished. Hallow seems happier, already walking along the snowy landscape and finishing her snow cone._

 _"Have you heard of the Spirits?" Hallow asked, curiously._ _Jade perked up._

 _"U-Um... Yeah, Harley told me about them... My Guide. You are the Hallowed Spirit, Correct?_ _" Jade nods a little bit, before suddenly remembering something Harley said and slowing to a stop._

 _"I control Magic Influence and Dreams!" Hallow stops when she does, looking slightly worried. "...Are you ok?" Jade stares at Hallow with slight suspicion._

 _"If you control dreams, does that mean you've been influencing this? This feels all too real. The snow is freezing cold... Are you going to allow for me to wake up?" Jade stands up perfectly straight, placing a hand on her hip._

 _"...But we just met! Don't you want to stay a little longer?" She shakes her head a bit._

 _"While I don't see the harm in staying a *little* longer, I fear that your definition of 'little longer' is fleeting."_

 _"But..." The snow starts to fall a little harder. Hallow takes a deep breath. "... I didn't do anything wrong, why do you want to leave so fast..? I've been sealed so long I just... Please don't go, not yet. I just want a friend! Just a century or two, that isn't long, right?"_ _ _Hallow has a deeply skewed sense of time, as Jade was suspicious of.__

 _"...I'm afraid Humans don't live that long. I'm merely a human. My lifespan isn't even one century. Please let me wake up, think about this. I just want to leave."_

 _"Wait! I don't WANT you to leave!" She yells, a crystalline tendril emerging from the snow. Followed by another, and another._

 _"Don't leave me here alone!" Hallow_ _ _howls.__ _There is a bright flash of rainbow from... Everywhere, before the tendrils flash towards her to hopefully ensnare her and ensure her escape isn't possible._

 _Jade begins to use the snow to her advantage, kicking up enough to hopefully create a vision-obscuring cloud. From the back of her belt, she retrieves her only dream world weapon- a copper shortsword. Quickly, she slices into her stomach lightly, hoping the pain will wake her up quickly. Hallow watches Jade do this, giving out a screech as she is ejected from the Dream World, her dream self crumbling to dust between Hallow's tendrils._

Jade is woken up by her real body slamming against the floor, the blankets wrapped around her as if they were sentient and trying to constrict her like a snake. She finally wiggles out, managing to get to her feet and shake the absolute FUCK out of Harley, who just straight squeaks and sits up immediately.

"Harley, Hallow came to me in a dream. She's going to be waiting for me to go back to sleep. Please, *please*, tell me you know how to stop this." Harley looks at her sleepily, sighing and producing a gray-colored potion from his bedside cabinet.

"A nullification potion. Drink a sip before bed and she can't use her Dream Influence on you, and you can rest peacefully without any worries. Please do note that if you drink too much, there's a chance you'll never wake up. Drink a *tiny* amount. The amount you would drink if you needed cough syrup. No more than that. To help with this, I added a bittering agent to make it unpleasant to drink just so you understand how important it is that you drink no more than needed." Jade nods quickly, taking an extremely tiny sip of the potion. Eugh, it tasted *horrible* to her. It did its job well, and eventually, she went back to sleep with no more interference from Hallow.


	4. Chapter 3: Crimson

**AN: Hi all! Ada back with another updated chapter due to Quarantine. This one is significantly better now due to fixing many writing mistakes.  
**  
 **Enjoy the story! I'll try to get Chapter 4 written this week.**

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Jade woke up extremely slowly, which was strange for her. Harley had been out of bed for almost an hour, however she still lagged behind. She glanced to her side, the sunlight blinding her from the windows. As she shielded her eyes, they drifted to the bedside table with a small bottle of a gray liquid, almost completely full save for the sip she had last night. It was the Nullification potion that she had been drinking before bed to prevent any more chaos by Hallow. After that big blazing ball of heckery, she _really_ did not want to see her again.

She finally willed herself out of bed, getting dressed from the expertly constructed dresser and… New clothes? She had added only 2 whole outfits to the dresser, so why is it full? She had literally no idea. They didn't have a loom, or so she thought. She got her clothing, strapped her Magic Mirror to her belt, grabbed a few potions and put them in her pack, and proceeded down the stairs. She occasionally heard a wet thump outside, which was mostly confusing for her. A quick look out the window showed that it was, in fact, raining. However, the drops were so much bigger… Are those slimes? It couldn't be, slimes usually make their way up from the caves. She pressed her face against the window, watching the creatures splatter on the ground, eventually regrouping and beginning to flop around. It was almost adorable, other than the fact some of them were leaving acid burns in the grass wherever they squished to.

Now Jade had seen everything. She decided to go outside with her Amethyst staff and kill a few slimes for some gel, chalking it up as an event that was sent to help her collect some important resources. She took the staff by the handle, feeling the energy from the staff push through her body. It was a very nice staff. Comfortable to hold, not too heavy, and just the right size. It was the perfect starting weapon, but it wouldn't be long before she would need an upgrade. Especially because it just sapped her mana reserves so hard.

Outside was a wasteland of nothing but slimes as far as she could see. The ground was covered in gelatinous creatures, which she proceeded to fire at. The blast radius of the staff was actually good, and before she knew it she had gained over 10 full bottles of gel in record time. After her happy murdering spree, she simply walked inside to greet Harley.

Harley was just walking up the stairs out of her workshop when they saw eachother. Harley gave a smile, which Jade happily returned before dropping all 10 bottles onto a wooden shelf. Those would be good for later.

"Did you sleep well after drinking the potion?" He questioned, her giving a nod. He then hands over a small sack of explosives, pointing out the window and over a hill. Following his finger lead her eyes to a taller tree, taller than any other in the distance. Its leaves were a deep crimson color. It seemed to slowly writhe around, and with any inspection whatsoever, it showed that it was alive and actively moving. How creepy.

"This world is quite dangerous, and so is the Crimson. However, you need a gun for defense, and maybe another staff. I don't know what type of weapons you prefer, but the point is… Our next mission is to the Crimson." He explains. Jade looks at him blankly, before shrugging.

"Crimson. Gun. Cave. Blow up Crimson Hearts, they give important items that you might need to progress faster and safely." She then nods, having gotten a decent understanding. Blow up cave hearts. What could go wrong.

He nods at her, smiling again. But she had something else to do before heading to the Crimson. She had unfinished business with that cave. She walked out the door, jumping over slimes, until she had reached the cave that she was in before. It took about a minute, but there she was. Back inside of the small, destroyed shack that she found the mirror in. She looked around a bit more, noting a broken and cobweb-covered chandelier on the floor. This place had been abandoned for a long time, but strangely, the chest looked brand new. None of the wood was rotten, it was destroyed slowly over time by the forces of nature.

She heard the crunch of wood behind her, immediately turning around and swinging her staff at a random skeleton that had made its way into the room. The Skeleton's blank eyes showed a wide range of emotion for being made of bone, but in this situation it was survival. She fired the Staff's special power, striking it in the chest. Its rib-cage shattered, sending bone shards into the hard wood as easily as a staff through gel, every piece of the skeleton going a different direction. In its original position was a small stack of coins and an undamaged mining helmet. The shirt and pants were damaged beyond all use though, so she only put on the mining helmet before exiting the small shack. She then thought for a second, before attempting to charge the bolt from the staff for a second.

The gem glowed violently, eventually sending out a small bolt, not much bigger than the usual bolt but still bigger. It did nothing but break the chest into small pieces. She shrugs, moving on. Her new helmet was emitting just enough light to be useful, her easily smashing and taking pots, and gathering a hell of a supply of resources, before she came across an artifact on a cliff in a ravine.

It was a glowing blue sword with a red gem embedded in the hilt, the very essence of the sword calling to her. She grabbed the hilt, chipping away at the stone and finally freeing it. She could feel its power. It was much, much more powerful than her staff. She kept on moving, swinging the sword around and finding that it was even lighter than the staff. After a few minutes of testing, she decided to discard the staff into an abyss, hearing the crack of the gem shattering against hard, cold stone. Well shit, she's not getting that back. At least she has an upgrade that's also effective at slicing stuff, instead of just being blunt copper and Amethyst.

Onward she went, finding the sword did the same thing as the Staff, just doing more damage. When charged, it fired a larger sword that exploded midflight, firing 3 swords in the same direction. However, it required a lot of energy to charge the shot. She always had to stop for a few minutes after a charged shot, the pure bolt of energy sucking the very life from her. It was difficult, but she kept going deeper. She kept smashing pots, she kept looting chests, until she found that her bag was completely stuffed. She smiled, satisfied with the expedition, and used her magic mirror. She was excited to show off her sword to Harley as the light surrounded her, and with a flash, she disappeared.

She proceeded to telefrag a table. Literally. She teleported home and a table exploded around her, crashing to the grass. Harley proceeded to stare at her before laughing.

"Dang it! I just got that table sanded!" He chuckled, Jade narrowing her eyes.

"...Harley. We are in the middle of a small field. This is outside. There is no reason for there to be a table here. You had that here just to annoy me." She says, the magic of the moment being sucked down into the abyss. Harley frowns.

"...Let me have my fun." He proceeds to pout, turning tail and going right back inside, Jade trailing behind him and tripping down the stairs to her workshop. She loaded all of her items into neatly sorted chests, and refined the ores down into bars over the course of a few hours for simplicity.

She equipped some small armor, the mining helmet, and strapped the bag of explosives to her belt, before heading out to the crimson to start destroying some crimson hearts for the gun that Harley was speaking of.

She set off right before nightfall, which might not have been such a good idea. The sky rapidly went red, and the ground felt… off. She finally located what must have been the cave. A giant skull, half embedded in the ground. A giant creature flew over it, making a horrifying noise that can be only described as a Mortal Kombat kombatant post-fatality. She fired an energy blast, the sword-shaped beam beginning to spin and chopping the creature directly down the middle.

The halves of the creature spurted blood, twitching independently and getting back up to try again. She was more than a little creeped out by this, which is proven by the fact she is throwing sticky grenades like hell froze over and it had to relocate to this god forsaken place. The halves were blasted into tiny pieces, one of which was shot through the skull at such a high speed it left a perfect hole. The entire skull cracks a little, blood beginning to leak steadily into the cave. She proceeded to scream and dive into the cave before the skull finally shattered inwards and let in the horrors of the night.

The cave was unending. It had twists and turns that nobody should expect from a cave, before she fell down into a giant opening. The soft flesh of the underground crimson softened her fall, but she soon realized she was in a greater threat's presence. In the center of the opening was a brain, chained to all of the walls. It seemed to be asleep, but that didn't ease Jade's worries at all due to the atmosphere of the place.

The Underground Crimson had a type of rotting yet still living musk that you'll never smell anywhere else. The scent of thousands of lives beginning and ending, of births and deaths, and of all that is fleshy melding together. Of generations waxing and waning, and of all types of tissue matter. Pulsating veins, organs, and muscle structures lined the walls, producing a heartbeat like motion throughout the entire cave. This was the rhythm that Crimson's followers always looked to. And they're always looking to defend the Crimson Spirit.

It's funny. When you're terrified, you never know what you'll do. You also never know just how fast you can run. Jade had just found out, considering she was moving fast enough to dig up chunks of flesh from the bloody ground. She dove into an offshoot, attempting to evade the spider swarm that was attempting to make her dead, slamming a bomb through a small cyst in the cave that had a heart in it. The cyst exploded, the entire cave quaking with an abnormal pulse. A blood red pus-covered revolver managed to land in her hands, but she had to scramble for the pouch of bullets. She proceeded to use her magic mirror as fast as possible, screaming as spiders surrounded her.

Then she was home.

Harley fell backwards, having been waiting at the Return Node to greet Jade, but was ultimately shocked by the sudden screeching noise in both of his ears. There was Jade, with a bloody spider on her chest. A giant bloody spider. Is that what the crimson has become? He almost felt nauseous with mild fear. Is this what **all** of them are like now?

She took her sword and slammed it down the spider's length, impaling it. She proceeded to fire a bolt, causing the spider to explode into a small storm of viscera, coating her with filth. It didn't matter to her, as she was already covered in blood and pus from the cyst exploding. She took a running start into a nearby river, cleaning herself in the cold water and breathing a sigh of "oh thank god, I am no longer covered in death". After several seconds of panicky breathing, she finally held her new gun up from the water to inspect it once her hands stopped quaking from the fear of the situation.

It was a blood red revolver, appearing to be shaped with completed cartridges in mind. She opened the sack of bullets, noting the fact that they were only musket balls. She would have to create gunpowder **and** cases to fire this weapon. She had the metal to create cartridges for it, despite not really having the know-how. But then she remembered Harley and his... MASSIVE affinity for books. He **had** to have one on the workings of firearms and how to make a Cartridge.

She moved out of the river, wringing out some of the water from her clothes and stepping into her workshop, yoinking a book on Firearms off of Harley's shelf. She'd replace it soon enough. Once she finally had the pages she needed, she immediately made the required specialized pieces for her anvil and press to create bullets and cartridges, slowly refining raw materials into cartridges, gunpowder, and finally completed ammunition. She set up a target dummy outside, much to the dismay of Harley, who had started to call it Hubert. She, after a lot of effort, began to learn how to fire her weapon. It took some time to get the cartridges right along with her god-awful aim, but she finally stopped on a design that was almost perfect to use.

A primer in the back lights the powder, which expands into hot gas and fires the bullet. Pulling the trigger pulls back the hammer and rotates the cylinder of the revolver. By working with the revolver's design and making a few modifications to the blood-steel construction, she created a 6 shot semi-automatic handgun that shoots a standard lead ball. While not effective at long range, it was perfect for her needs. She then gets to work on the new loom, built by Harley, to create a holster for her new gun. Within hours, her weaponry is finally finished. A revolver, 95 cartridges, and a holster that hooks onto her belt. She felt like a gunslinger from an old television show she used to watch. The memory was fleeting, but sometimes she enjoyed looking back.

Someone was knocking. Jade narrowed her eyes. She exited her workshop, thinking. Are there humans other than her and Harley? She wasn't ready to take chances. She drew her revolver, opening the door, but not pointing it just yet so she didn't shoot some random dude.

The two men stood there, noting the fact a girl that's almost 6 inches shorter than both of them has opened the door. One of them begins to speak.

"Hey there. I'm Dorian, and I would like to request to seek refuge from the hordes of Zombies out to annihilate my entire physical form. I can supply you with ammo compatible with any firearm you have, as well as selling firearms that are also compatible with my ammo." He explains, the other man beginning to speak next.

"Uhh… My name is Calvin, and I'm a merchant. I can sell torches, rope, and a bunch of other items. I can also purchase any excess materials you have. I would also like to seek refuge from the horrors of the night."

Jade opens the door fully, inviting them in. They have like 20 empty rooms, this is fine. A family is a family. They both rush in instantly, claiming the 2 rooms closest to the door for simplicity's sake.

Jade herself was absolutely exhausted, hanging up her materials and heading up the stairs to greet Harley, who was already in his bed reading a book. She slipped under the covers and placed her magic mirror aside, thinking for a few minutes.

"...Goodnight, Harley. I know it might not mean much, but you're important to me. Thank you for all you do here." Harley beams with pride, laying down himself before they both take sips of their individual potions, before drifting off to sleep.


End file.
